Manny makes Hall of Fame ballot debut

BOSTON — A hitting machine from the right side of the plate who also happened to be one of the most unforgettable characters of his era, Manny Ramirez is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time.

The statistics are clearly Cooperstown-worthy. Ramirez had a slash line of .312/.411/.585 over his 19-year career while clubbing 555 homers with 1,831 RBIs. He was also a force in the postseason, helping lead the Red Sox to World Series championships in 2004 and ’07 before producing some October heroics for the Dodgers in ’08 and ’09.

But Ramirez’s case for the Hall of Fame won’t be based solely on numbers. The outfielder was suspended twice for testing positive for banned substances under MLB’s joint drug prevention and treatment program. The suspensions occurred in 2009 (50 games) and ’11 (100 games).

After the second suspension, Ramirez did not play in the Majors again.

A player’s name must appear on at least 75 percent of the ballots of eligible Baseball Writers’ Association of America members to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and voters can list up to 10 names. Ramirez can remain on the ballot for up to 10 years as long as he gets at least five percent of the vote each year. The announcement of the Class of 2017 is slated for Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. ET, and it will be simulcast on MLB Network and MLB.com The induction …

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